BBQ Oyster Po-boy recipe from the Red Fish Grill

At the New Orleans Oyster Festival, Red Fish Grill in the French Quarter is going to sell the po-boy version of its famous BBQ Oysters. If you are unfortunate enough to live somewhere outside the Greater New Orleans region and can't make it to the festival this weekend, here's the recipe.

Once again, it proves the magic of pairing bleu cheese and oysters. Of course, you may use the blue cheese sauce in any application, such as salad dressing (maybe a salad of spinach and fried oysters?). It may be made up to four days ahead of use.

Combine hot sauce and honey in a blender. In a very small saucepan, heat the clarified butter to 140 degrees (on a frying thermometer) over medium heat, or heat the butter in a microwave oven in a small microwaveable bowl. (If you just prepared the clarified butter and it's still over 140 degrees, you don't need to cool it.)

Turn the blender to low speed and slowly pour the hot butter in a thin steady stream through the hole in the blender's lid. Pour the blended sauce into a large mixing bowl.

For The Oysters:

Canola oil, for deep frying

2 cups seasoned flour

36 medium-to-large oysters,* drained

1 cup blue-cheese dressing (recipe below)

Blue cheese crumbles

Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees, or heat 1-1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Place the seasoned flour in a large mixing bowl. Prepare a platter with paper towels to drain the oysters after frying.

When oil has almost reached 350 degrees, drain excess oyster liquor* from a batch of the oysters and dredge them in the seasoned flour.

Carefully slide the oysters into the oil. (As the cold oysters come in contact with the hot oil, it may momentarily bubble up in the pan.) Fry the oysters just until golden brown and crispy, about two minutes. Remove the finished oysters from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat to dredge and fry the remaining oysters.

As soon as all the oysters have been fried and drained, add small batches of them to the bowl of barbecue sauce and toss to coat well. Serve while still warm.

Blue Cheese Dressing:

Makes 1-1/2 cups

4 ounces Stilton or other good-quality blue cheese, crumbled

3/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade

2 tablespoons buttermilk

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl, blending well with a whisk.

Serving Suggestion: Before using the blue cheese dressing, refrigerate it in a covered container at least four hours or overnight to let the flavors develop, then season with more kosher salt and pepper if desired. Keep refrigerated and use within four days.

For serving:

New Orleans po-boy French bread, cut in 6" pieces

Shredded lettuce

Sliced Creole or heirloom red tomatoes

Shaved red onion

Plating the po-boy: Cut the French bread down the middle and line one side with lettuce, tomatoes and shaved red onions. Add 14 oysters and top with blue cheese dressing and crumbles.